Cuts and Lacerations
Cuts and lacerations constituted the major category of traumatic injury
among the 150,376 open-wounds injury cases reported in 2001. Cut and
laceration cases are less severe than the average nonfatal injury or
illness case. They involved a median of 3 days away from work in 2001
compared with 6 days for all nonfatal injuries and illnesses (Figure
2–123) [BLS 2003a].
BLS reported 114,791 cut and laceration cases involving days away from
work in 2001 (Figure 2–118). Rates declined 44.5% during 1992–2001,
from 22.7 per 10,000 workers in 1992 to 12.6 in 2001 (Figure 2–119).
Most cases involved workers who were aged 25–54 (69.4%) (Figure
2–120), male (81.9%) (Figure 2–121), and white, non-Hispanic
(60.7%) (Figure 2–122). Together, two occupational groups accounted
for more than 67% of cut and laceration cases: operators, fabricators,
and laborers (40.0%) and precision production, craft, and repair (27.2%)
(Figure 2–124). Rates exceeding the private-sector rate were reported
for construction (35.8 per 10,000 full-time workers), agriculture, forestry,
and fishing (26.5), manufacturing (16.1), and retail trade (15.4) (Figure
2–125). Two industry sectors (construction and agriculture, forestry,
and fishing) had consistently higher annual rates of cut and laceration
cases than other sectors during 1992–2001, and they experienced
reductions of 26.3% and 41.2%, respectively (Figure 2–126).
Magnitude and Trend
How did the number of cut and laceration cases change during 1992–2001?
